Cold and Coffee
by AlianaMarvell
Summary: :The Coffee Project: A story on how a lonesome demigod, Nico di Angelo found his angel Nico di angeloxOc
1. Prologue: Strings, Humans and Kings

**Prologue: Strings, Humans and King**

_You told me to hold on_

_Oh you told me to hold on_

_But innocence is gone_

_And what was right is gone_

_-Imagine Dragons [Bleeding Out]_

_It was cold, but she didn't mind. The sharp knives of the wind pressed against her skin and sent her hair flying in a simultaneous flow. The howling of the wind surrounded her, but she was too transfixed by the beauty of the sky to notice. The inky black color was splattered across the sky, with blotches of aqua blue and milky green evading in the midnight zone. The stars, hung like jewels on the sky giving the sky an eerie glow. The moon however was embraced by puffs of thin soft clouds, hiding its glory. _

_She sighed in contentment and turned towards her lonely companion. A smile graced her smile as she asked, "Do you know what makes us human beings?" _

_He didn't move at the sudden outburst of the voice and merely kept his composure as he shrugged. She absent mindly started picking the grass as she said, "Many will say that to be a human is to have a heart beating and soul." He didn't move, but she could hear is beating heart against his fragile ribs. She nevertheless continued, "But I disagree." _

_She turned her attention to the stars, her voice barely above a whisper, "I think" she continued, "that to be a human being is to have emotions inside us." _

_All she got was silence. _

"_You see, even the other living organisms have a soul and a heart, but they are not human. That because they don't have feelings. They don't feel the crown of glory on their heads, the fear evading their veins, the feeling of happiness making them numb. They have instincts, but not emotions." _

"_Then what's with humans turning into animals? "He said, his voice sending shivers down her spine. _

"_That's because we humans are forgetting our strings of emotions" she simply answered. _

She sighed happily as she slipped into her shoes and turned to check her appearance on the mirror perched on the wall. Her inky black hair was tied in her signature pigtails were falling in long waves. Her green eyes had blotches of blue in them. She smiled lightly at the light dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Arabelle come on we are getting late!" He yelled annoyance in his voice.

She grinned as she replied, "Hold your horses Ghost King!"

She smiled more as the rays of the sun welcomed her. Scrunching her nose, she took hold of his hand.

"_Strange_," she thought. "_I met him in the cold, and am with him in the summers_."

But she didn't complain in the least.


	2. Chapter 1: Scarf's and Stalking

_**.:Espresso:.**_

**( chapter has been revised again. ) **

**Chapter 1: Scarf's and Stalking **

_When Arabelle was a small innocent child, not more than five years old with her dark hair tucked in two small pigtails and her green eyes filled with innocence and curiosity, she would always go to the sea; granted the fact that she lived near the vast water body. She had always loved the sea, especially under the small bright beads that littered the sky. She would always squeal in excitement as the cool water would hit her toes and the stars would wink at her. Nothing in the world would stop her, not even her mother who would sternly scold her about catching a cold. But inside, even her mother would laugh at the adorable laughter and giggles emitted from her daughter when she would run towards the sea, her arms spread wide. _

_Of course, all the laughter and happiness was stolen from her when her mother just disappeared. Most people would argue and say that her mother had abandoned her, but Arabelle would always assure herself that her mother has just disappeared, she hasn't abandoned her. That thought would just hurt. _

_Then she was made to live with her aunt and uncle and their adorable son. Arabelle didn't mind in the least, it was like having a family again, but sometimes she would just wish to return to the sea where she once belonged._

The heavens today let loose large shimmering flakes, floating along the monotone waves of the air and finally dropping at its destination, the earth. The alabaster snow had covered the ground like a warm blanket. The place was filled with aura of peace and serenity.

Arabelle let out a contented sigh as she skipped cautiously on the snow filled sidewalk, her pigtails flowing behind her along with the woven scarf draped loosely around her neck. It was holidays and she was more than obliged to treasure her free time on her favorite cafe, reading her book and enjoying the bitter taste of the coffee evade her senses.

The bell of the door jingled merrily as she opened the door, welcoming the warm atmosphere of the café, compared to the chilly frost outside. She took in the sweet aroma of the vanilla that had evaded her like a non-existent cloud.

She skipped to the stool perched on the corner, opened her book and laid it on the surface of the wooden table and sat there, completely blocking herself out of the world. Only to bring her back to life, when the waitress came to her and asked her order. Ordering herself her beloved coffee.

She glanced up from the printed words on the paper when the familiar chime of the bell greeted her ears; she glanced up to see the new comer, only to be welcomed by black.

A teen, about her age, which was to say fourteen prowled to a seat away from her. A dark aviator hung loosely on his thin frame. His dark hair was messed around, sticking up to different angles. His complexion was pale, almost alabaster. But when Arabelle saw his eyes, she was transfixed.

Those eyes. They looked so broken, like shattered stained glass. They were dark brown that they almost looked inky black, without any pupils. Dark circles hung under them, and she grimaced at the hurt they contained.

He turned to look at her, and she quickly swiped her eyes away. She could hear him scoff. A moment later she heard him order black coffee, the only coffee she had never drunk.

She sipped her Espresso, savoring the rich taste that took control of her taste buds. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt someone watching her. Arabelle looked around and met the eyes of the stranger. She raised her eyebrow in question, but he didn't move, but merely looked at her with coldness, as is asking her worth. He smirked at her expression and shook his head scornfully.

Feeling offended she took hold of her book and coffee and stood up, the sharp coldness of the eyes burned in her memory. Scrunching her eyebrows together, she shook her head and headed towards the door. Maybe she should just visit the park…

Smiling at that thought, she skipped out of the café, not noticing that her scarf feel down on the wooden floor, only to be picked up by the stranger.

Arabelle took in the cold frost of the air, shuddering when the icy knives pressed against the bare skin of her neck. Too late she realized that she somehow dropped her scarf somewhere. A sigh escaping her lips she made way to her home.

Her brain went to function about the stranger she met today, he looked so lost. As if he was trying his best to stay strong but he knows he has hit his breaking point.

Arabelle was so lost in thought that she didn't notice someone walking behind her. She kept on replaying the moment that happened not so long ago that she wasn't even able to hear the footsteps of someone following her.

She yelped when she felt someone shake her shoulder. She swished around rapidly and without even considering whom the person was she smacked him on the head, resulting with a _smack!_

The culprit covered in pain, clutching his head. He groaned, muttering curses in Greek, which somehow Arabelle understood.

"What do you think you doing, following me?" she asked furiously.

The stranger stood up straight, clutched his head glaring at her with eyes that Arabelle recognized with shock.

"You!" she exclaimed, "Why are you following me, huh?"

The stranger knitted his eyebrows together in disbelief. "You don't just go hitting people on the head with a book!" he lashed out. Arabelle squinted her eyes in disbelief, only then she realized he was clutching her scarf.

"Hey, you stole my scarf!" she accused him. And before he could say something she snatched it from his hands.

"You dropped it" he said casually, as Arabelle rubbed her red cheek along the soft cloth.

"Hey…" she said, looking at him with wide eyes in curiosity, "What's your name?"

"Why?" he said smirking, "Are going to stalk me?"

She glared at him "In your dreams, Mister!" with that she turned around with a huff and started walking away.

"Nico di Angelo." she heard him say after awhile of silence.

Arabelle turned around to the owner of the voice.

He wasn't there.

**Yes, yes I know I changed the chapter. I wasn't really happy with the chapter I wrote previously as it didn't have any link with the title or the plot, I don't even know why I wrote it. Probably because of being deprived from sleep. (That's what reading too much fanfictions does to you..)**

**Tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 2: Snowmen, Sticks and Falling

_.:Cappuccino:._

_Fact about Coffee: Coffee is originally a fruit, it's is called "Coffee Berries", the reason they are called berries is because of their shape._

**Chapter 2: Snowmen, Sticks and Falling **

_From the start Arabelle was never scared of the dark. It always amazed her mother at how easily her daughter can endure the shadows of the dark elope her. She was always reluctant about letting her child go out in the dark, afraid she might be captured in the clutches of dark hopeless void. Whenever someone asks her about this fact, she would reply, "Why? Should I be afraid?" _

_She enjoyed the cold shadows of the dark; she almost wanted them to cover her, to save her from the loneliness. But she knew. She knew she can't go to the dark without a companion._

_Because dark is black._

_And Black is the absence of color, it hopes for nothing and expects for nothing. _

_But Arabelle didn't understand the true meaning. _

_Not until now, anyways. _

Arabelle encountered the said stranger, Nico di Angelo, many times after the scarf fiasco. Either it be the in school (Arabelle has no idea, how he can _even_ sneak up to school; granted the fact that he isn't a student), or the shopping mall (Sometimes Arabelle thinks he has _way_ too much free time on hands), or _heck _-even McDonalds (it seemed strange to see the gloomy, lonely stranger eat a _Happy Meal_).

But the only encounter with Nico that actually _changed_ something, that actually emitted _some sparks_ happened in the park.

Arabelle, as her usual routine took hold of some plain papers and sketching pencils and went to the infamous _Miracle Rose Café _to have her preferred and loved Coffee. Then with headphones tucked on her ears she would meander to the park. There she would find a perfect spot beside the tree and would sit there and just-draw.

It was a normal routine, really.

Who knew a certain stranger can change that?

As Arabelle, according to her typical preferred routine was drawing, a couple on the swings to be exact, she however heard someone snore from above the tree.

That was something unusual from her usual routine.

Curiosity took better of her; she placed her sketch pad on the soft grass and peered up. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh no." she drawled, her eyes narrowed in annoyance, "Not again"

The stranger, named Nico di Angelo, also known as "The Scarf Stealer" was perched on the strong branch of the tree, sleeping.

"Annd he calls me a stalker" she trailed off.

But then as she recalled, he did have eye bags, as if he had been deprived from sleep for a long time. She wondered why he was living like this; why make himself suffer?

She stood on her toes to get better look of him, the branch wasn't considerably that high. Arabelle almost smiled at the peaceful expression of the teen. His eye brows were not scrunched together in the usual frown. His dark silky hair were coming down in long waves, Arabelle wondered why he hasn't bothered to cut his hair. He almost looked serene. As if all his troubles had vanished away, along with reality. Arabelle voluntarily reached out her hand to move her fingers along the tangles of his hair.

Nico cracked open one of his eyes, "Too handsome for you?" he smirked.

Arabelle jerked her hand away in utter shock, "Wha-?" she uttered. She jolted back. As she regained her composure, she narrowed her eyes, "In your dreams, di Angelo" she said.

He sat up straight, "Then why were you staring at me? "He asked, a smirk plastered on his face.

"I was just wondering that whether a homeless hobo has anything better to do, other than stalk cute girls like me." She shot back, her knuckles resting on her hips.

Nico scowled. He jumped of the tree, landing graceful. "Show off" Arabelle scoffed.

"I am not stalking, you are just attracted to my awesomeness" he retorted back, connecting his arms together in front of his chest.

Arabelle huffed; she plunked herself on the cool grass. "Well, I have better things to do then being attracted." She took hold of the neglected papers and started drawing again.

Silence greeted them both like a cool waves of the sea, teasing them; but no one bothered saying anything. The stranger leaned against the tree, staring into the horizons.

And a few pages and sketchbooks later, Arabelle decided to break the tranquility, "So…" she started. "Do you live around here?"

Nico turned to look at her, "No" he plainly said.

"Why are you so quiet?" she asked, "Why do you have this aura of…darkness?"

"Everyone has their own reasons" he said, looking away, "And besides, it's none of your business"

Arabelle frowned, "It was my business since the day you gave me my scarf."

The stranger didn't say anything, Arabelle knitted her eyebrows together. Well, if he isn't going to open up, then she should urge him to. The only way to do so was enclosing herself.

"My mother disappeared when I was six years old" Arabelle started, "Many people said that she abandoned me, but I don't believe that."

She looked forward at the lonely swing, rocking along with the wind. "How can a mother who has loved so dearly abandon you just like that?" she asked, "I was more content on thinking she has just disappeared, maybe lost. That thought would hurt but it was more bearable."

Nico didn't say anything, but Arabelle knew he was listening.

"I was then to live with my uncle and aunt," she continued, "It was hard at first, adjusting and everything. Sometimes I felt like a burden. I still remember trying to sneak out of the house, to search for my mother."

The wind tried to console her, as it ran its soft feathery hands along her face, ruffling her hair.

Arabelle sighed, "But the most painful thing was not to see the sea again."

She hugged her knees, her chin resting on the knee caps. "At school I was nothing but a loner, no one really appreciated me-maybe because I was dyslexic? Or ADHD? I never knew. I did have a friend, but she felt me for someone else. It hurt at first, but then I got used to it. I would always remind myself that this is not my real home; my real home is somewhere else, somewhere far away. Or maybe really close?"

She looked at him, "You have a home too, and I know that. But it's just too far away"

Silence came after that. The wind howled, pressing the knives against her cheeks. Arabelle peered at the fallen snow on the hard ground, covering her like warm crystallized blanket.

"Hey..." Arabelle said peering at Nico, "Do you wanna built a snowman?"

Nico scowled, "That's childish" he said,

Arabelle stuck out her tongue rather cutely, "I don't care, I am gonna built a snowmen and so will you!" she declared standing up.

Nico shrugged, "What other choice do I have?"

"No Nico, you can't make the snowman sad!" Arabelle whined, pointing at the solemn expression of the said built snowmen.

"Who says you can't?" Nico lashed out, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"You just can't! Snowmen are supposed to be happy so that anyone who see's it feels happy!" Arabelle huffed.

"I have never heard a rule like that" Nico dryly said, glancing at the handiwork they both did.

Arabelle huffed again and went over to "do justice to the snowman", or so she says.

"Okay, done!" Arabelle exclaimed happily, "Now we need a scarf"

She took hold of the scarf draped around her neck, but was stopped by Nico who placed his hands on her. She flinched at the sudden contact.

"_Cold_," she thought, "_His hands are so cold_."

"Use my scarf instead" he said, "Or else you will call me the 'Scarf Stealer' again."

"'Cuz you are one" she said, not even thinking on what she was saying.

Nico smirked, as he took of his scarf and draped in on the snowman.

Arabelle smiled at him, "Now we only need his arms." She chirped.

Nico pointed to a nearby tree, where they were sitting before, "You can take them from there."

Arabelle grinned in excitement, "Okay! I'll go and cut some"

And before Nico say something, Arabelle literally flew towards the said tree. She secured her foot on one of the small branches of the tree and lifted herself of the ground. She took hold of the other branch and placed her foot on a thick branch. She hung herself from one of the branches and lifted herself on the other branch. She leaned forward and broke off one of the slender small branch. "Hey Nico!" she called after him, "Is this one okay?"

Nico smiled, despite of himself. He slandered towards the tree. "Yes," he called back, "I think it will be fine."

Arabelle grinned at him, her cheeks flushed with pride. "I'll just another one, then" she said, leaning forward. She reached out her hand.

Then quite suddenly she heard the branch break slightly with a light "Crack!"

"Oh shit," she cursed, she tried to move but the branch creak more in protest. Her eyes wide in fear, she looked at Nico who was looking at her cautiously, his body braced.

"It's okay," he said, "You won't fall."

Just as he said it the branch of the tree gave up under the weight, and broke. Arabelle screamed in fear, she braced herself to feel the hardness of the ground.

She didn't feel any. She felt two strong arms wrap around her torso, she emitted a soft "Ouff!" She heard someone groan beside her.

She fluttered open her eyes, only to met brown eyes looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" he said.

"Y-yeah" she shakily said, somehow the closeness with the stranger made her feel flustered.

He let her down; she stood on her legs shakily. She stood straight, trying to compose herself. Upon finally having her composure back, she grinned at him, "That was fun!" she squealed, "And on the bright side I still have the arms!" she said, raising the two "arms"

He shook his head in disbelief. Arabelle pouted, "Lighten up, Mrs. Darkness" she said. She took his hand while saying, "Now come on, we've got a snowman to build"

**Ahh, it's finally finished. I feel so accomplished. (Wipes tears of happiness)**

**Thanks to Eesha (I got your name right, didn't I?) for giving me the wonderful idea of Arabelle and Nico meeting at the park. **

**Compliments, critics, sarcasm are welcome~**


	4. Chapter 3: Secrets, Angels,Something New

_.:Café Latte:._

_Fact about Coffee: There was a custom in Turkey, that if the husband doesn't provide his wife with coffee, it can easily end in divorce. _

**Chapter 3: Secrets, Angels and Something New**

_A voice_

_Underground Echo_

_I am like a color;_

_That faded away_

_-Drag On, Song of Darkness_

_Arabelle never really had any friends. _

_Though Arabelle was never bothered by this fact, her mother and later aunt and uncle were worried about her profound loneliness. She would always be at home, while the other kinds her age would be out playing. At first her mother encouraged her to go out and make friends, as she couldn't bear to see her in the lonely state that she was in. Arabelle, soon grew restless and worned out by the tactics of her mother that she once told her, "I don't need a friends to be happy. I know friends hurt other friends." _

_Her aunt and uncle, were however another story. They would always tell Arabelle to go out, making plans for her, or sometimes even calling a few people of her age over. But Arabelle had enough, she was more inclined on being alone, that she refused the entire offers she had been given. She believed more in finding a lonely person, she can accompany. In this way the two sad lonely people will not be so lonely anymore. _

_She never found a lonely person, she could accompany. She soon gave up on the thought. _

_But then, she met the stranger._

_(Skip)_

_Nico di Angelo always thought of Arabelle to be a childish immature girl, who has a cheery and bubbly personality. But then he knows she has a dark side within her, a side which she has hidden by her smile. But then, Nico never gave a second thought about her, she is just a meaningless person in his life, someone who would just go away. _

_He didn't know the fates were against that. _

_He had so long learned the lesson of not depending on others. He knew that he shouldn't look upon on people, he shouldn't lean on them. Because, he knew that they would just leave and let him go. He never believed in a constant, like a Polaris; a constant star. _

_But then Nico also knew that he is just coming up with excuses, ways to not fall again. A part in him knew that Arabelle will come up to be a special person in his life. But Nico is just to blunt to realize. _

_Your broken heart requires all of my attention _

'_Cause something isn't right-I don't wanna fight you_

_-Wipe your eyes, Maroon 5_

(Skip)

Arabelle was at the park when she found something New.

She was sitting beside the usual tree, with headphones covering her ears. She was hugging her knees, staring at the freshly fallen snow.

A sigh escaped her lips, marveling at the beauty of the scene displayed in front of her. She heard the light footsteps of the stranger walk up to her. She didn't need to see whether it was him, she was so used to his voice of the footsteps; the slight fragrance of coffee, the aura of darkness that she already knew it was him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she whispered.

The stranger didn't reply but she knew he agreed.

"You know," she said, "I was thinking, that maybe there are Angels on earth."

Nico sat down beside her, leaning against the bark of the tree. Arabelle smiled at him.

"People can't really indentify an Angel when they see one, of course" she said, "That's why they are called Angel in Disguise."

He gave his head a shook, urging her to go on. Arabelle didn't know, but Nico felt himself calm down whenever she speaks, it seems weird. But hey, whose world are you living?

"But then comes they thought that who can be called an Angel?" she asked. Arabelle extended her hand as the soft snow flakes floated from the heavens to her palm. "What I think is that, an Angel is the one who has changed some one's life. Who has bought something New."

Nico hummed in reply, his eyes closed. Arabelle took that as a sign of understanding. Silence soon followed after. The howling of wind, the creaking of the swings, and the crunching of the snow under someone's feet.

"My mother died when I was young," she heard him say after a while. Arabelle turned towards him. The stranger was sitting cross-legged; his head bent low staring at his pallid hands, which were resting on his legs. "She was killed by someone," he continued, bitterness in his voice. "My father managed to save me and my sister but-not her" he explained. Arabelle nodded, urging him to go on. She didn't say anything, she knew that Nico didn't need any apologize, or words of comfort.

"We both were chucked at some casino for some while. Then we were taken to some school." Nico continued, "And from there my life turned worse."

Arabelle remained quiet.

"My sister, Bianca di Angelo died after we were taken a camp, Camp Half-Blood" he said solemnly, blaring his fists, "She was the only family I had. Father had abandoned us. I was left all alone. I had nowhere to go!"

"You do," Arabelle said, "You have a home, but it's too far away"

"And the worst thing was," Niso said, his wrist shaking, "I had a crush on the person who promised to keep my sister safe."

"Your name…" Arabelle said cautiously, "It means victorious, right?"

Nico nodded, but turned to look at her when she giggled, "Then you are a Victorious Angel" she said, smiling. "And you know that to win something you have to do through sacrifices."

Nico smiled lightly, it wasn't big, only the sides of his lips quirked up, but to Arabelle it was enough.

"So…" she pondered on, "That means, that your sister Bianca would be White Angel" she grinned, her cheeks flushed with happiness.

Nico looked at her, and for the first time Arabelle saw a spark in them, as if he has started to hope, as if he has found something New.

"Yeah" he agreed, "But what about you? What kind of Angel are you?"

Arabelle didn't reply.

_Angel, oh angel, you have my heart,_

_I'll catch you when you fall down, _

_When you fall apart._

_Angel, oh angel, you have my soul,_

'_Cause heaven knows when two halves make a whole_

_-Angel's song, SaywecanFly_

When Arabelle returned home, her aunt say her smiling, lighting up her green eyes. "Well, someone looks happy today," she said cheekily, poking Arabelle's cheeks, "Mind telling me the reason? Arabelle smiled more, her eyes almost looking blue, "Nothing" she replied, "I just found something New."

**Anndd, the next chapter is up! I had really fun writing this one, from the start I wanted to add a smiling Nico and Angels, who knew I could add them together? I hope you enjoyed this one as I enjoyed writing! (Smiles cheekily) **

**To have more smiling Nico you will have to comment~~ (I am evil, aren't I?) **


	5. Chapter 4: Ice cream, Promises and Smile

_.:Americano:. _

_Fact: New York drinks about 7 times as much coffee as the rest of the world. No wonder it is called the city that never sleeps_.

**Chapter 4: Ice cream, Promises and Smile**

_Arabelle isn't the kind of person to fall in love easily, nor she is good at falling. _

_In all the fifteen years of her life, in all the books she read the characters seems to fall in love to easily, or so are too blunt to realize it. But for Arabelle it's different._

_She just finds it hard to believe on how someone who can't even look at the other due to bashfulness can say she or he loves him or her. Isn't love supposed to be deeper than that? Isn't it supposed to have trust in it? The trust that the counterpart will not hurt the companion? _

_Is love when your heart beats fast, you feel butterflies in your stomach?_

_But then Arabelle can't judge, after all she has never been in love._

_But then they are also other kind of love. Like the love she has for her mother, her aunt and uncle, her cousin. How is that different? _

_Maybe the stranger can tell her that._

"Arabelle?" her aunt said, creaking open the door and peering into her room,"What are you doing?"

Arabelle looked up from the stack of papers placed in front of her, "Nothing, just drawing" she replied, smiling. Her aunt entered her room, "It's good to know that you are being proactive" she said, ruffling her hair.

Her aunt was a beautiful woman to be exact, and it can't be helped by the fact that her name was Alaine, meaning beautiful. She was in her middle thirties with a charming smile. She eyes were blue, which contrasted with her Auburn hair. It was no wonder her uncle Martin fell for her.

Arabelle smiled at her, "I just got some inspiration that I wanted to draw."

Her aunt peered over her shoulder and inwardly gasped, "My, you have certainly improved Arabelle" she said. "But who is this boy anyways?"

"Nico di Angelo" Arabelle replied staring at the drawing, "He is a friend of mine"

"I see," her aunt said, nodding, "Then why don't you invite him over? We were going to have icecream anyways."

Arabelle grinned, "Really Aunt Alaine? I think Nico will really appreciate it! I will go right now then!" she stood up from her chair, frantically wore her coat and exited the room, leaving behind her amused aunt.

"Really" she said, "who knew she would grow up so fast?"

"Arabelle are you sure about this?" Nico said, earnestly, edging away from her.

"Yes, I am pretty damn sure, Nico" Arabelle said, sighing exasperatedly, dragging him to come with her. "Besides, if I am not sure then why would I be dragging you?"

Nico grumbled, crossing his arms while following her.

"Oh come on, Nico" she said cheekily, "A bit of ice cream won't hurt you."

"What flavor is it, anyways?" Nico asked, scowling; trying to hide his smile.

"Coffee~" Arabelle sang happily.

Nico remained quiet.

"So this is Nico, huh?" her aunt said, opening the door, while motioning them to come inside.

"Yup" Arabelle said, looking at Nico who was trying to hide behind her. "She is not going to bite you, Nico" she said, giggling.

He slightly scowled at her; Arabelle smiled lightly and poked his cheek.

Aunt Alaine, or to say Mrs. Lynch smiled at the scene, "Well, I daresay the ice cream is going to melt if we don't hurry up and besides, Aaron is waiting for both of you to come" with that she closed the main door and entered the kitchen.

"Nico, I swear you have got nothing to be scared of," Arabelle said, turning to him. Nico looked at her, "I am not scared…just not used to come to someone else's house." He said.

"Just think of this as your own" Arabelle said, taking hold of his hand, "Now come one, I want to eat some ice cream."

Arabelle didn't know, she didn't know in which state he was in. Her kind words, soft voice, comfort made him feel alive day by day. She didn't know how she made him breathe deeply, taking in the essence of life.

She didn't know what she means in his life.

"Ne, Ara?" her cousin said, munching on the ice cream, if that's even possible.

Arabelle smiled at him, "Yes, Aaron?" she inquired.

"Is Nico your boyfriend?"

Both the said stranger and Arabelle jolted at that question what was asked so innocently. A light hue covered her cheeks, but she nevertheless said, "No, we are just friends." She looked at Nico, who was staring intently at the dessert placed in front of him, but he nevertheless nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Aaron replied, looking down. But then after a while he glanced at Nico and asked, "Nico brother?"

Nico looked shocked at the way he was called; he looked at the infant in front of him and asked shakily, "Y-yes?"

"Are you going to marry, sister Ara?"

Silence.

Then, Mrs. Lynch broke the silence and like a savior she said, "Aaron, it is disrespect to ask such questions."

Arabelle was sure her aunt is a savior in disguise.

Aaron mumbled a quick apology and continued on eating his favored dessert. But that didn't crack the thickness of the silence that covered them like a non-existent cloud.

"So Nico," Mrs. Lynch said, breaking the silence, "since who long have you and Arabelle been friends?"

Nico pondered on this, "About two weeks," he replied.

She smiled," Its good that Arabelle has found such a adorable friend," she leaned down to poke his cheeks, "what? Do you have any meat underneath this" she said horrified. She suddenly got up, "We need to fatten you up,boy!" she declared, pointing at the fridge.

Nico looked at Arabelle with a shocked expression and by the looks of her face, she wasn't expecting this. "She is really conscious about health," she murmured.

"Well, that explains a lot" Nico replied, looking at Mrs. Lynch who was lighting up the stove, carrying an aura of determination.

They both were sitting on the carpet of Arabelle's room, Nico grumbling about the amount of food he has been force fed, while Arabelle was giggling at his bemused expression. She went over to tap his nose, "At least you ate something, and I was coming under the impression that you are anorexic."

Nico grumbled," I am not now anyways, thanks to your aunt"

Arabelle smiled. Silence soon followed after.

"Hey," Nico said after a while, "I found out the meaning of your name"

Arabelle looked at him, curiosity on her face.

"You name means'Beautiful Alter' in Latin and 'Answered Prayers' in French" he informed.

Arabelle smiled lightly, "That's…strange", she said, "I never remembered being a prayer of someone, nor being a change for someone."

"You are" Nico argued," You were my prayer Arabelle. For the all time I spent alone, I wished someone would come, an Angel would come. I wished that someone would change my life, who would bring an alter; a beautiful change. And guess what? I got you"

Arabelle stared at him in disbelief, "Nico…" she murmured. But seeing the intensity in his eyes, she lips broke in a smile. The first true smile she had smiled in her whole life. "Then promise me" she said grinning, "Promise me that you would be my Angel"

Nico smiled lightly, it wasn't big, but for Arabelle it was enough.

"I promise."

**I was carving Ice cream so I thought; why not add it in this story? **

**More smiling Nico for all you who liked my story **

**And thanks to **CookiesCream333 **encouraging me to write **


	6. Chapter 5: Shadows, Swings and Snowball

_.: Mocha chino:. _

_Fact: Approximately about 500 billion cups of Coffee has been consumed, which exceeds the 7.19 billion population of the world. _

**Chapter 5: Shadows, Swings and Snowball fights**

_When your dreams all fail_

_And the ones we hail_

_Are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run stale_

_-Demons (Imagine Dragons)_

_Arabelle hates nightmares. _

_Well, of course no one ever has any inclination towards nightmares anyways. But for Arabelle it's different. Waking up every night with sweat dripping down her forehead, mixing with the saltiness of the tears; she would look around her surroundings that are bathed in the illumine moonlight. The bed sheets felt like death covering her. The flashes of night terrors would evade her senses._

_But she wouldn't be scared. _

_Needless to say, she believes nightmares are a part of life. Without epilates who can one discover his dreams? Having trust in her belief, she would flounder on her path looking for light. Though sometimes she won't be able to sleep, wrapping the colorless sheets around her shaking body she would stare into the horizons; perhaps waiting for an Angel. Not believing she is an Angel herself. _

_Gradually, light dark circles began to form under her eyes. They weren't completely visible, but they were existent. Arabelle carried them like battle scars. _

_Because to her, it meant she has survived the demons in her dreams. _

(Skip)

"What are you doing here all alone?"

Arabelle yelped in shock, a soft scream emitting from her throat. She turned towards the owner of the voice in a hazard movement. Only to meet brown eyes staring at her.

"Nico," she gasped in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Nico shrugged," I could ask you the same question" he said, sitting down beside her on the soft grass of the park. She hummed in reply, completely ignoring his question as she stared out at the scene displayed in front of her.

Snow had encrusted the surface, making it look like a winter wonderland. The moonlight cascaded from the sky, giving the objects on earth an eerie glow. The only other source of illumine light was the streetlights, that flickered continuously; creating shadows on the pure frost on the ground. The swings rocked forwards and backwards along the melody of the air. The crickets chirped, contrasting with the silence.

"I can't sleep" she whispered after a while, trying to avoid his eyes.

Nico nodded, telling he has understood,"You came here to escape the terrors" he guessed plainly, staring that the night sky.

Arabelle shook her head, "No," she disagreed, "I am here to greet the night"

Nico didn't reply, marveling at her simplicity. Arabelle looked at the lonely swing, sighing deeply.

"Sometimes I want to be a child again" Arabelle said, "At least I would be oblivious to the terrors of this world." After a while she again repeated," I don't want to be mature, but no one can stop it" Arabelle looked at him, "Aside from death, of course."

Nico's eyes widened in realization. Arabelle when seeing his reaction shook her head, "No, I don't want to die, di Angelo" she said, "I just…want to be young again."

Nico quite suddenly got up, surprising Arabelle. He offered Arabelle his hand. Savoring the contact when she took it for support. Nico led her towards the abandoned swings and motioned her to sit on it. Arabelle gave him a confused look, but nevertheless sat on the wooden black attached to strong yet rusting metal rods. She turned to look at him, as he had walked behind her. She became to say, "Nico, what-?" but she was cut off as she felt Nico push her forward. A startled yelp escaped her lips, but that soon turned into a cheerful laugh as she felt the cold air press against her skin. Her dark hair flew behind her, along with the scarf. She could feel Nico's hand behind her back; she could hear his chuckle as she would squeal in excitement.

She closed her eyes and allowed happiness to wash over her. A huge smile gracing was her lips.

Because when she is with Nico, she is at home.

_Tonight,_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_-We are young (Fun.) _

(Skip)

"I want a snowball fight!" Aaron, Arabelle's cousin declared.

"That's ridiculous" Nico said at once, but Arabelle had a different point of view. "Snowball fight?" she questioned, peering at Aaron's determined yet endearing face. "Let's do this thing!" she quipped, and ran straight forward to the blanket of snow on the park; followed closely by Aaron himself. "You have got to be kidding me" Nico muttered, looking at the two dare devils that were busing packing snow together in their cloth covered hands.

"Hey, di Angelo" Arabelle called after him, "Do you want to have a snowball fight?" she asked cheekily. But before he could even reply, he was hit by a sphere shaped snow packed together.

He shook he head, trying to get small ice particles out of his hair and face. He looked at Arabelle who was biting her lips to prevent from laughing. He narrowed his eyes in challenge, Arabelle got what he meant and smiled in encouragement while packing together some snow together. Nico bent forward and initiated Arabelle's move and then surged it towards her, who squealed in shock. Aaron laughed in delight and pelted snow at random places, which landed on Arabelle's neatly tied pigtails and on Nico's beloved aviator jacket.

Arabelle stood up, with dozen of snowballs tucked on her arms. She targeted Aaron as she took hold of one of the packed snowballs and aimed it at Aaron. Nico seeing that Arabelle attention has been diverted strode towards her and took hold of her wait and twirled her around earning a squeal from her. He moved around his toes chucking at the protests from Arabelle that soon turned into giggles.

Seeing the lightness of Arabelle's body and Nico's steal grip around her petite waist they kept on twirling for a while, snowflakes falling graciously on them from the sky, as if blessing them.

"N-Nico" Arabelle managed between laughs, her cheeks flushed "Stop…"

Nico chucked again, sending shivers down her spine. But then quite suddenly Nico lost his footing and fell down tackling Arabelle along with him, who fell down with a shriek. Nico groaned under the weight he was plummeted with. Aaron who was finding the situation hilarious started to laugh loudly in an endearing way. Arabelle noticing the state they were in flopped off Nico, muttering her apology.

Nico sat up groaning but nevertheless with a small smile on his face, he looked at Arabelle who was still weak from laughter with flush covering her pallid cheeks.

Arabelle leaned over to him, "Nico?" she asked, getting an inquiring nod from Nico, "I think I have found my Angelo" she said, smiling.

(Skip)

Hades, the Lord of the Underworld clenched his hand in anger, muttering curses. His wife, Persephone however remained calm and said with a smooth voice, "Surely it is not something disastrous?"

"Disastrous?" bellowed Hades, as he stood up straight, his cloak camouflaging with the shadows, "That brat is getting himself in trouble again! Does he even know what he is doing?"

Persephone sighed but nevertheless tried to sooth him down by saying, "She is just a girl, who can she be trouble?"

"She is more than trouble! Have you looked at her aura? She is powerful demigod. A child of…" Hades stopped himself and turned around. "I can sense a catastrophic to occur. This is not good at all. What is that boy even thinking?"

"She doesn't even know her true self, Hades" Persephone reasoned, "I might not be trouble now. W e can only wait for when she determined.

Hades sighed, in order to calm himself. He fingered the rich texture of his cloak, merging in the shadows.

"Yes, I suppose it might." He finally said.

**Annd cut! Another chapter down, people! I am feeling so proud of myself. I am a lot of fun writing this! The scene's were just too cute :3**

**(I might as well remind you that I am only 13 years old and this is my first fanfic, aside from all the short stories I write in my free time. I have no experience whatsoever, so I gladly accept all the comments and critics)**


	7. Chapter 6: Socks, Heartbeats and Being T

_.:Caramel Macchiato:._

_Fact: Coffee can kill if the amount exceeds the safety limit; the lethal dose of coffee for adult is 100 cups of processed coffee. _

**Chapter 6: Socks, Heartbeats and Being Taller**

_Arabelle is practically in love with Greek Mythology. _

_Needless to say, her mother always used to tell her all the majestic myths and stories concerning the Greeks and Arabelle in return used to listen to them quite fondly. Her fondness was overgrown when her mother bought her books on them. With dyslexia and ADHD it was quite hard for Arabelle to read such words and would case her headache, she would still try to read them. This only resulted in frustration, to say the least. _

_In addition, she was also fascinated by constellations and the stories that evolved around them. It was a daily practice to sit on the sandy shores of the beach and discuss the stars. _

_Later then one day Arabelle asked about her father. The question seemed so innocent that her mother couldn't tell her the truth. She would tell her daughter that he was lost somewhere, finding his way. Young Arabelle actually believed what her mother said. But sometimes she would press more on her mother to tell her more about her father. _

"_He was a gentle man" her mother once said wistfully, staring the waves of the sea, "He had an aura of gentleness yet firmness. He…was a different person, disobedient, mysterious. He was like the sea, sometimes calm sometimes…" she trailed off, an expression on her face that Arabelle couldn't decipher. _

_In school, Greek history and Myth was the only subject she worked extra hard on. She was smart, but because of her disabilities she couldn't score higher than a C or B+. But she would try as hard as she could. She would try to concentrate during classes; no matter how dull they seem and the voice of the teacher seem to lull her to sleep. She would try to improve her spellings, learn all the names, practice the algebraic formulas_

_She would imagine her father looking over her. Would he be proud? Or has he completely neglected her? Wished she was never born? But over the time she got over him, well as much as she could. She had a loving aunt, a humorous uncle and an adorable cousin. What else did she want? _

_And besides, the stranger was with her. _

_(Skip)_

Arabelle reached the park, beside the tree looking for Nico. She glanced around, hoping to see him lingering somewhere. When seeing none, she pouted in disappointment and crossed her arms against her chest. She sat down, still looking around to see him, but then someone on the bench caught her eye.

It wasn't a single person. Three old aged women were sitting on the bench, knitting large sizes of socks. Arabelle's eyes widened at the huge sizes of the woolen socks. The three ladies looked at her, staring intently. Arabelle felt uneasy. One in the middle snipped of a cord, staring at her strangely. Arabelle shook her head and immediately got up. The old aged women were still staring at her.

Arabelle turned around with shaking legs, not bothering to look bag she began to run to her home.

They were still looking at her.

(Skip)

Arabelle glared at Nico, her clenched hands placed on the sides of her waist. Nico raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Anything wrong?" he asked casually. "Where were you today?" Arabelle asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Nico crossed his arms against his chest, "I had to go somewhere" he replied. Arabelle pouted, "You could have told me" she whined, "I was alone the whole time. I wanted to drink coffee~"

"You could have done it without me" Nico said.

"It's always more fun when we are together" Arabelle said smiling.

_B-bmp _

There. Again she is making his world crumble. Forcing his knees to buckle. Making his heart beat double.

"But seeing that you are here," Arabelle continued, "We can go there now"

Nico nodded despite of himself, "Yeah," he said, "We can, can't we?"

Arabelle nodded, her pigtails bouncing, she walked on while Nico followed her; trying his best to hide the smile on his face.

Arabelle suddenly stopped; she looked behind, staring at Nico. He looked at her in confusion. "I just noticed something," she whispered, taking a step closer to Nico.

_B-bmp_

Arabelle gazed at him with her green eyes. Nico noticed hints of blue in them.

"How come you are taller than me?" Arabelle asked, shocked. And before Nico could say anything, she cried in outrage, "How come everyone is taller than me? This is so unfair!"

Nico, who has never been in this kind of situation didn't know what to say. But he didn't need too as Arabelle turned around with a huff, her fist raised in mock declaration, "I will be taller than everyone! And that day everyone will bow before me!" She again turned backwards and peered at Nico, and said, "But first I need coffee."

The sides of his lips quirked up lightly, "Yeah," he said, "Me too"

_I am only a man with a candle to guide me_

_I am taking a stand to escape what's inside me_

_Monster, (Imagine Dragons)_

(Skip)

"Arabelle," Nico said, peering at the said person who was gazing at her beloved coffee, waiting for it cool down. She hummed in reply, not moving her vision.

Nico clutched his cup tighter, in struggle for his words he said, "If something…horrific occurs, "he started, "Just remember … I will be there." He cursed himself at the flatness of what he said.

Arabelle looked at him, apparently lost for words. She nevertheless smiled a smile that made his inside warm. She reached for his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

_B-bmp_

"Thank you." She said softly, her eyes almost looking blue.

And there, to Nico nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that Percy has a girlfriend. It didn't matter that everyone at camp despises him. It didn't even affect him that the dead is only is companion.

It didn't matter he is alone.

Because he found his Angel.

She was broken. She had no wings. She had no freedom. But she has a pure heart.

And that's all Nico's shattered soul needs.

**This one was crappy, wasn't it? I apologize for that, I completed it in a few hours, and even if it's holidays my mother is still making me study for the next semester. **

**Anyways, I am planning on taking her to camp in a few chapters. The reason Arabelle isn't sent to camp in the earlier chapters is because I wanted to built on the relationship between Nico and Arabelle and later carry on with the myth stuff. **

**Tell me what you think, please? **


	8. Chapter 7: Tugs, Monster and Water

_.:Caf au Lait:._

_Fact: Coffee is said to be discovered by a mere farmer, who noticed his goats acting hyperactive and crazy after eating coffee beans. _

**Chapter 7: Tugs, Monster and Water**

_Arabelle leads a strange life. _

_Of course ignoring the fact that her mother mysteriously disappeared into nowhere and Arabelle was thrown at her relative's house, when she doesn't even know how they came to know about the strange disappearance in such a short time. But nevertheless, Arabelle doesn't have time to think about this. Since much stranger things occur in her life. _

_Such as the time when she accidentally nearly managed to drown a bully in preschool when he was tormenting her, and fortunately for her and unfortunately for him, they were quite near the swimming pool. She didn't even do anything, all she felt was a tug in her gut and the next thing she knew he was flapping his hands around in the water, desperately calling for help_

_Then, Arabelle managed to somehow burst all the pipettes and test tubes in the science lab, when she was furious at the teacher who had criticized her work that she worked so hard on. _

_Another accountant in her life was when she thereby flooded her house near the sea when a burglar had trampled into their house and was threatening her life with his shiny knife. _

_And for all these accidents she had gotten kicked out of the former school, her mother and later aunt and uncle had trouble in finding a new school. But Arabelle was used to it, or she said she was. She had gotten used to all the strangeness she life contained. So of course she wasn't that surprised when the stranger flopped into her life out of nowhere. _

_She welcomed the strangeness._

_(Skip)_

Zeus tapped impatiently at his throne, staring at the figure of his brother, the sea god Poseidon; who was staring intently at the floor, thinking deeply.

Silence had filled the room, leaving an unease atmosphere. All the gods and goddesses sat on their respected thrones, looking from one place to another, as if urging someone to speak. All of them had frowns plastered on their faces, all expect for Aphrodite who had a smile graced on her crimson lips.

"Well, isn't this wonderful?" she gushed excitedly, clasping her manicured hands together. Athena raised an eyebrow but wisely didn't say anything. But Zeus however, had enough as he stood upright and hit his palm in the arm of his throne. "Wonderful?" his voice boomed, "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?"

Aphrodite simply flicked a strand of her hair, "Does it really matter? They both are more capable of having a love legendary than Helen and Troy!" she squealed.

Poseidon rubbed his forehead wearily, "Aphrodite," he said, concern flashing in his voice, "If your prophecy-"he was cut off by the said goddess, who corrected him, "It isn't a prophecy, Poseidon, as I would remind you, it was just a…hunch, I suppose" she presumed, a light frown on her lips.

Poseidon sighed, "Whatever it might be," he continued, "if it is therefore correct, it might not end well; are you sure that there is no way to stop it?"

Aphrodite tucked a strand behind her ear, "You can't control emotions" she said, "especially of that teen. It is her fatal flaw, she takes a head charge once driven in deep emotions. And the boy…" she trailed off.

"He is a special case," a voice boomed from the shadows. The atmosphere of the throne room deepened, as Hades took an entrance; steeping out of the shadows.

"Brother," Poseidon said, "What brings you here to this meeting?"

"I daresay I am invited here" Hades said, taking his place on his throne, "And especially when he are discussing my son."

"So you claim him then?" Zeus accused.

Hades sighed, a flicker of madness in his eyes, "Yes, brother I do. I might ignore him, but that therefore does not apply that I don't claim him."

Athena spoke, her voice with finality,"That is not the concern right now, "she said, "what matters it that whether we can prevent this disaster from taking place."

Artemis shook her head, "I daresay there isn't," she said sternly, "they both have already met and as Aphrodite says they both are developing a sense of strong friendship."

Ares grumbled, "Can't we just kill them and get over it?"

Poseidon clenched his fists, "I am warning you, if you go near her I'll-"

Zeus slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, "This is not the time to fight!" he thundered.

Athena's grey eyes looked around, as if calculating the prospects, "I say that nothing can be done until the girl reaches safely at camp."

"As if," Ares said grumbled; his eyes on Aphrodite.

(Skip)

Arabelle was sitting on the wooden bench in the park, trying to decipher the words on the book which lay on her lap. But that tranquility was soon broken when a giant eyes splitting roar reached her ears. Gasping, she bolted from the bench, her book falling on the land with a soft thud. She turned around fearfully.

Arabelle almost felt like slapping herself to reality.

A monster. A seven feet tall bull, with bulging muscles from his arms and chest that was covered with thick fur that travelled till his snout, what was as long as Arabelle's arm. The bull was wearing nothing but a Lincoln on his legs. He was slashing an axe with the shape of omega: **Ω**

"A minotaur," she guessed, remembering the myths she had previously read, "Son of Pasiphae"

The Minotaur roared. Arabelle noticed on how nobody seemed bothered by the fact that there was a monster on the normal park. The monster sped up towards her, and Arabelle wondered that how it knew she was here, "Wasn't he supposed to have bad eyesight?" she thought, "then, why…?"

The monster raised its weapon, still a few feet away from her. Arabelle, already in shock stumbled backwards, her eyes wide in horror. But then as it grew near her, instincts took over her plus with the bad odor he reeked with. She dogged the swipe of the axe, and rolled over, landing a few feet away from the monster. The beast roared in frustration and charged with the razor sharp horns aimed at her chest.

Arabelle, who had no means of weapon to fight against the beast, ran away from it, occasionally stumbling on small rocks and pebbles. She didn't stop until she reached the lake. The monster was still hot on her heels, grunting in anger. She gasped knowing that she has no escape now; every step she took looked like a step closer to death.

"_No,_" she thought, _"I will not die. Not now."_

The beast raised its weapon, ready to strike. Arabelle shut her eyes close, repeating, "I will not die, I will not die, I will not di-"she felt a tug in her gut, her eyes snapped open, her vision much clearer, she yelled. A battle cry.

Water burst through the lake, the water pipes, and the fountain. All the jets of water aimed at the Minotaur, who groaned when it was plummet by it.

Arabelle gasped her hands on her knees. She stood up straight when she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see Nico; a bewildered look on his face.

"Nico?" she gasped, "What are you-?" she was cut short when she heard the beast try to stand up, stumbling. Nico shook his head and walked towards the groaning monster. He raised his sword, that Arabelle then noticed he was holding; thus with a swipe of his obsidian sword, the monster disintegrated, with showers of golden sparks.

Arabelle looked in awe, Nico acted as if he had done with many times. He turned towards her, his sword clenched in his wrist. He looked at her, as if seeing her in new light.

"Arabelle," he said, "We have a lot to talk about."

Arabelle didn't disagree.

**Okaay, another chapter down, Woo-hoo!**

**I did this one in quite a hurry, since many people were urging to write more, while my mother was telling to stop writing…**

**Though, it's about time a monster attacked Arabelle, I was beginning to wonder whether she is a monster…**

**Ah, well, that's what you get for not planning on what to write next. **


	9. Chapter 8: Hellhound, Hall-blood and Cat

_.:Doppio:._

_Fact: __Every scene of the film Fight Club has a Starbucks coffee cup hidden in it somewhere. _

**Chapter 8: Hellhound, Hall-blood and Catching **

_A stormy sea  
And massive clouds  
I'm like the ashes  
Like a waning glow_

_-Song of Darkness_

"So I am a demigod" Arabelle said, looking at Nico who was running his finger along the sharp edge of his sword. Nico nodded. Nico took her to the coffee shop, and sitting at the dead corner of the room, in case someone might eavesdrop on them. Arabelle tried not to let the sweet aroma of the room, invade her senses.

"Okaay," Arabelle said, bewildered by this new piece of information.

Nico sighed, "I know it's hard to believe," he said, "Chiron will explain it much better but for that we need to go to Camp Half-Blood."

"Camp Half-Blood?" Arabelle inquired, "What's that?"

"It's a place where demigods like you and me are safe." Nico informed and with a swing of his hand he slung the sword behind his back swiftly, as if he has done this many times before. Arabelle thought about why no one had noticed a teen carry a foot long black sword. She resolved this as one of the questions she yet has to ask.

"Safe?" Arabelle echoed, "Does that mean that demigods are…" she let her question hang.

"We demigods don't belong in this mortal world, or on the Olympian's world. We attract monsters, which none the less would like to devour on us."

Arabelle flinched at the seriousness of his tone, but Nico continued, "Apparently Camp Half-Blood is the only place that protects us."

"How?"

Nico got up, "We'll know that soon enough, "he said, "Now, come on we need to go to camp."

Arabelle stood up straight and followed Nico out of the café, who was looking for something. He looked at her lend her his hand though he looked reluctant about it, "He are going to Shadow Travel," he informed, "So you might as well hold on."

Arabelle took hold of his hand, thinking on how cold his hands were. However, the moment her hand touched his she felt a spark, she peered at Nico to see whether he felt it, but he showed no emotion.

Nico took a deep breath and started running, followed by a startled Arabelle who had no choice but to run after him.

Arabelle soon realized there were running to a tree, "Nico, what-?" but she was soon cut of, as coldness took cover of her. She closed her eyes, her body numb. She clenched his hand more tightly.

Nico seeing her frightened state said, "Its okay, we are just shadow travelling." Arabelle fluttered open her eyes, and gasped.

"_Shadows_," she thought, "_We are covered in shadows_."

But before she could admire them, the darkness writhed away and she scrunched at the large intake of sunlight. She squinted her eyes to look around the new place she had transported to.

They were surrounded by thick trees, which stood proudly on the grass filled ground. Arabelle's lungs filled with the fresh fragrance of damp leaves and grass. Sunlight strived through the thick masses of leaves, coming down like elongated strips. Nico glanced at Arabelle, who was peering curiously around the hill. _"Green,"_ he noticed, _"her eyes look so green."_

"Where are we..?" pondered Arabelle. "Half Blood Hill," Nico answered," the camp is nearby"

"Why didn't you transport us right into the camp area?" Arabelle asked, as she followed Nico who had started walking. "The camp is protected by a strong barrier that withstands against my shadow travelling ability. I could make a portal inside the camp if I had to transport only myself, but with two companions it needs much force that would decrease my strength."

Arabelle nodded, "To gain more power you need sacrifices," she said. Nico didn't reply, just walked on ahead.

Silence followed soon after. No one bothered talking. The crunching of the leaves and twigs under her feet, the chirping of the bird, the beating of her heart all seemed soundless to her. She could almost hear the murmurs of the water from a long distance.

Then suddenly she heard something quite different.

A growl.

Instinctively, both Arabelle and Nico turned around, only to see a gigantic dog-like body, covered in black mastiffs. Its glowing crimson eyes glared at them.

"A hellhound," guessed Arabelle, "But what's it doing here…?"

The creature lunged at them both, Nico dogged unfazed but Arabelle was still in shock. "Arabelle!" Nico shouted. But she didn't move. The monster sensed her vulnerable state, and pounced at her. Arabelle stared back at the red menacing eyes.

But then, at the last moment, Arabelle rolled over her pigtails bouncing behind her. She landed swiftly on the sodden mass of leaves and dirt. The monster was surprised upon not finding her under his claws. It caught sight of her and pounced one more time. Arabelle jumped sideways and caught hold of its fur. The hellhound howled and tried shaking her off. Arabelle twisted her arms and landed on top the hellhound's back. The beast shook himself, in attempts to shake her off, but Arabelle kept an iron grip on it.

"Nico!" Arabelle shouted, "Throw me your sword!"

"What?" Nico said, confused.

"Hurry! Throw me your sword," Arabelle commanded, "I might lose hold!"

Nico gripped the hilt of the obsidian sword, and sheathed it. He held its pointed blade and took a step back; with all the force he swiped the sword upwards, towards the yelping hellhound. The weapon rolled in circular movement towards Arabelle.

For a moment, Nico thought Arabelle might miss it. But Arabelle raised her arm and grabbed its hilt. She held it with her both hands and raised it above her ready to strike the hellhound. The hellhound was moving in haphazardly, making it hard to strike him.

Nico picked up a random rock and pelted it at him, calling him something Arabelle dare not repeat. The creature stopped quite suddenly and turned towards Nico, as if making its mind to pounce or not. Arabelle took this chance and striked the sword its back. The hellhound opened its mouth in shook, but no voice came. The monster disintegrated into a handful of golden dust.

But, as Arabelle was perched on top of the hellhound yelped in surprise as the monster disintegrated, leaving her with no support. A scream emitted her lips as she flew. Nico instinctively ran towards her falling body. He wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from falling. Nico groaned under the weight he was plummeted with. Arabelle squeaked at the closeness with the stranger.

"How many times," demanded Nico, "do I have to catch you?"

Arabelle smiled despite herself, "Not until I scrap me knees," she replied.

_He would never talk,_

_But he was not shy_

_She was a street-smart girl_

_But she could not lie_

_They were perfect for each other _

_Say it now _

'_Cause in your heart it's loud_

_-Razorblade _

**Ugh, I swear having a writer's block is horrible, plus I am not allowed to drink coffee…**

**So, Arabelle and Nico face another monster, this time a deadly hellhound. How did it get here? And what's with Arabelle amazing sense of fighting instinctively? Things are starting to look up!**

**A special thanks to Maryam Shah, a fangirl friend of mine who has always managed to take me out of my writer's block and give me amazing ideas. I am sorry I wasn't able to add them in this chapter, I still need to strengthen their friendship and add other things I am planning to do~ [I am not telling them ;)]**

**Reminder: I am planning on adding a small illustration for every chapter, I might be late on drawing them and they might not be good…but I need ideas for them. So comment what you want me to draw! **


	10. Chapter 9: Three –minus-one-variables

_.:Café Noisette:._

_Fact: __Coffee beans are combustible and scientists have suggested that coffee beans could replace fossil fuels as one of our main sources of energy and motor fuel__._

**Chapter 9: Three –minus-one-variables, Campers and Material**

_Half-breed, that's all I ever heard.__  
__Half-breed, how I learned to hate the word.__  
__Half-breed, she's no good they warned.__  
__Both sides were against me since the day I was born_

_-Half-breed (Cher) _

When the day started, Arabelle knew something was going to change.

So, hence she was ready to face any strange or unusual catastrophic that was about to occur.

Or that's what she believed.

Until she met three variables that made her think that she _wasn't _ready for all the strangeness about to occur in her life.

_The first one was a dragon next to a tall pine tree. _

As Arabelle and Nico entered through the entrance; which was two chalky white stone pillars that supported another slab of stone scripted with Camp-Half Blood. Arabelle noticed other campers scattered around the grassy lands, all of them wearing orange T-shirts with the camps name written on them.

The campers, as Arabelle noticed were different in ages. Arabelle noticed an 11-year old timid demigod sword fighting with someone who looked about the age of 14. She saw few campers playing basketball on the court, all the players varying in ages and creed.

But then as she and Nico moved onwards, she noticed that the campers would slightly edge away as they would see Nico. Arabelle frowned in confusion, is it because of the dark aura he has?

"_Hey, is that Nico? The son of Hades?" _

"_Hey, who is that girl with him?"_

"_His girlfriend?"_

"_No way! You think someone like him will __**ever**__ have one?" _

_(Now, Arabelle was ready to have the fact that people though she was Nico's girlfriend the second variables, but somehow she knew that she would have to tackle that matter more than once while she is here so she felt it at that and moved on)_

Arabelle turned to look at the campers who muttered that, a blush covering her cheeks in embarrassment. Nico and she have been friends for like only one month! How can people even think that way?

"Please," she muttered scornfully, "Like that will ever happen."

Nico did the smallest of the movements and said, "What? You think I am not boyfriend material?"

Arabelle puffed her cheeks out, "Shaddup" she muttered.

But then her eyes landed on a large creature curled up beside the pine tree. Arabelle suddenly stopped in shock, blinking rapidly. Nico almost smiled at her expression.

"Is that…" gaped Arabelle, "a dragon?"

Nico nodded, "We call him Peleus," he said looking at the snake headed dragon. Its copper scales glinting under the sunlight, "he guards the Golden Fleece."

Arabelle only then noticed the golden fluffy cloth wrapped around the bark of the pine tree. "The Golden Fleece?" Arabelle ventured, "The one that was stolen by Jason?"

Nico nodded.

"And can cure anything?"

Nico nodded again, "That's the reason it is here. The pine tree protects the camp. But it was poisoned and was beyond any help. And without the pine tree the camp was in danger. Only the Golden Fleece could help."

"Wow," Arabelle gasped, "And to think this day can get any more realistic."

They both moved on, though Arabelle didn't know where they were going she didn't bother asking him. It somehow felt…_natural. _ Like all of the things she was seeing was absolutely unrefined and spontaneous. It almost scared her. She felt a sharp pain erect in her head, but she waved it off and tried a conversation.

"So, do the demigods," she said, the word demigod feeling odd against her tongue, "Do they have to stay here forever?"

"Not necessarily," Nico said, "Some stay here for the whole year and then leave for some time being with their mortal parents, while some stay here for the whole time."

Arabelle tried to wrap her mind with all the things she had witnessed today. It all seemed to confusing, like big chunks of puzzle pieces were thrown in her head and were completely scattered everywhere. But then, it felt compelling, but it also felt _right._

She was so worked up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Nico had suddenly stopped walking; hence she clumsily bumped into him. "S-sorry" she squeaked.

Nico shook his head, "We are here." He said, "That's the Big House."

Arabelle stared at the house that perched on the grass filled ground. It was a large, sky-blue house with a comfortable sense of aura. Arabelle noticed bronze eagle weather vane on top of the roof, with dangling wind chimes.

_The next one was a centaur._

Arabelle blinked in confusion, "Why did you bring me here?"

"You need to meet Chiron," said Nico, "Besides he will explain it all to you, as well."

"Chiron..?" Arabelle mumbled nervously, "Is he like..not as scary like the hellhound?"

"You can find that out yourself," Nico replied.

As they both stepped on the small wooden stairs, Arabelle flinched as she felt pain sear through her forehead. Her knees buckled as she pressed her hand to her palm on her forehead.

Nico frowned, "Are you okay?" he asked, but Arabelle completely waved it off. "I am fine," she said, "Probably because of not sleeping earlier"

Nico nodded, but moved on and opened the door of The Big House, creaking in protest. "Chiron," he called. Arabelle noticed him holding the hilt of his sword.

Arabelle followed after him, a startled look on her face when she heard hooves thudding against the wooden surface. "It's her?" she heard a male voice ask.

"It's her," Nico confirmed.

Arabelle peered from his shoulder and saw a middle aged man staring at her. She shuddered at the intensity of his eyes under the bushy eyebrows. But as Arabelle looked down, expecting to see flamel pair of paints, she saw…

A lower body of a horse.

"A centaur," she whispered.

"Arabelle Prier," Chiron said gravely, "I have been expecting you,"

Suddenly the pain increased. She cried out in pain clutching her head, her vision blurred. She bent down in pain, shaking as well as crying slightly. She could hear Nico call out her name, the stamping of horse hooves. She could feel his hand on her shoulder shaking it. Her vision blackened and she felt herself falling…

But then she knew no more.

_The third variable was for her to find out…_

**God, I swear my sleep deprived state is getting out of hand…**

**Ahaha, I am so sorry, I haven't updated for like..5 days? My less-inspirational-and-sleepless-state has been really getting me…Also the fact that I haven't eaten anything for like 8 hours. I apologize if you find this chapter crappy…My dedication to write for my people has made me write more but hasn't made me write **_**something good.**_** (Besides, someone is really pestering me to write, I better not tell her name, hahaha [laughs nervously])**


	11. Chapter 10: Dream, Lake and Warnings

_.:Ristretto:._

_Fact: _The word "coffee" comes from the Arabic "qahhwat al-bun," meaning "wine of the bean".

**Chapter 10: Dream, Lake and Giving Warning**

The third variable was the dream.

_And when silence comes_

_And hope fades _

_It was cold. _

_Arabelle squinted her eyes to see properly, but the fog was so dense see couldn't decipher anything. Confused she took a step forward, her shoes clanking against the hard floor. Arabelle hissed as a strong gust of air swept against her. "Where am I…?" she asked herself, the sound echoing in the silent unknown place. _

_I keep on walking _

_On the unknown place_

_Shivering, she moved around, hoping to see anything properly, but she was effulged by the thick mass of mist and fog. "Hello?" she called out, "Anyone here?" _

_With the nightmares stalking _

_And isolation in place_

"_Arabelle" _

_The said person gasped and almost stumbled and fell. She straightened herself cautiously, looking around, "Who…" she began shakily, but then strengthened her voice and asked again, "Who is there?" _

_She heard a chuckle, "Always persistent, aren't you?" the voice said_

_She thrashed around the place, looking for something familiar, something comforting, but found nothing. Fear was pulsing through her heart pulses, covering her rapidly beating heart. "W-who are you?" _

_And when you are scared _

_Feeling helpless _

"_I can't tell you that, young Arabelle," the voice said. Arabelle could hear despair between those words. _

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Just…" the voice stumbled for a second, but later regained its composure and said, "Listen to me, Arabelle. Your life from now onwards won't be any easier, you should brace yourself." _

_Arabelle stared into the nothingness, finding her voice to speak, "You mean," she choked out, "I am in danger?" _

"_Indeed."_

"_B-but why?" exclaimed Arabelle said, "I don't understand anything at all! Who am I really? What is happening?" _

_For some time the voice remained silent, Arabelle thought the owner has fled away, that thought made her fear abandonment all over again. _

"_I know it will be hard for you," it finally said, Arabelle sensed comfort, "But believe me, you will be used to it. But right now, you should train yourself carefully; there are many out there waiting to kill you." _

"_Train?" she repeated, "Wait-who wants to kill me?" she hurriedly asked. _

_But the owner of the voice already bid farewell, and next thing she knew she was falling into darkness. She screamed shrilly, desperate to hold on to anything. But the shadows enveloped her, taking her breath away. She could feel herself drowning… _

_You drown in sorrow _

_But then to be saved _

_And to realize _

_You are not alone._

Arabelle eyes snapped open and she jolted upwards hazardously, breathing deeply; as if she has just run a marathon. With her chest rising up and down she looked around, confused by the sudden change of location. Infirmary, she thought, and then she realized the soft mattress that was laid under her. She didn't realize she was shivering, she hugged her herself in fear.

"Arabelle?"

She yelped at the sudden voice, she jolted to where the sound came from. "Nico?" she asked, meeting the brown eyes of the said person. He furrowed his eyebrows together, "You idiot," he said angrily, "What is wrong with you?"

Arabelle blinked in confusion, "What do you mean?" she asked, quivering under his angered look.

Nico scoffed, he flung himself from the chair beside the small bed and ran off from the room; leaving a more confused Arabelle behind. She glanced down at the pallid sheets, trying to think of what happened. She remembered coming to the camp, then…meeting a centaur named Chiron, but then…

'Ah, that's right,' she thought, 'I fainted.' Maybe that's why he was angry at her? Maybe she showed him she was weak? Did she let him down or something?

"Don't worry about him,"

Arabelle turned her vision towards the entrance, where stood Chiron, smiling warmly at her. "He was really worried about you," he informed, "He stayed here the whole time"

Arabelle looked down, "Then why was he so angry?"

Chiron chuckled, "Nico has his own way of showing concern to people" he replied, "In fact I haven't seen him this worried in a long time when his sister was sent on a quest…"

Arabelle glanced around the room, apparently lost for words, she knew Chiron was trying to console her, but…the look on his face and the previous dream scared her. She doesn't know why but…it captivated her. The way Nico just lashed out at her and then ran away, the way the shadows covered her, she shivered in fear.

But realizing about Chiron's presence, she shook her head and asked him, "I still don't understand why I was brought here. And why did a hellhound and a Minotaur attack me out of nowhere?"

"Indeed? Chiron questioned, "These two monsters attacked you on the same day?"

Arabelle nodded. Chiron then sighed and said, "Arabelle, you are a demigod; half god half human. Demigods don't live an easy life. Monsters hunt them to devour on them. Half-bloods like you are strong, yet dangerous; you all have a certain scent that attracts these monsters."

"But then, how is this camp safe?" Arabelle asked.

"It is protected by strong barrier and shield; it doesn't allow any monster or mortal to get inside."

"And what do you mean by half-god?"

Chiron nodded, "That means that one of your parents is god, a Greek or Roman god, to be exact."

"Like Heracles?" Arabelle asked.

Chiron nodded. "But my father is dead!" Arabelle protested. The centaur shook his head, "He isn't. He is very much alive."

"Then who is he?" Arabelle asked, "And what about my mother?"

"You are undetermined," said Chiron, "That means you haven't been claimed by your godly parent."

"Claimed?" Arabelle inquired, "How?"

"A symbol will appear on top of your head concerning who you're parent is," Chiron said.

"When?"

"It depends. It mostly occurs when you are above eleven, but seeing you have long well crossed that…"

Arabelle frowned lightly, "I don't care about my father. He abandoned me and my mother."

Chiron shook his head, swishing his tail, "The gods aren't allowed to interact with humans."

"Even their kids?"

"Especially their kids, which usually leads to a war."

"But-" Arabelle began but she was cut short as the door banged open as a teen came in, breathing heavily, "Chiron," he gasped, "one of the camper is injured. We need your help."

Chiron nodded, "Arabelle, I trust that you may find Nico, tell him to show you around the camp and explain the things you aren't clear about," and with that he trotted out of the infirmary, his tail swishing behind him. Leaving Arabelle alone, wondering about the mess she was in. She slowly got up from the bed and assembled the sheets in neatly folded pile and went out of the infirmary, wondering where to go.

Arabelle exited the room, only to meet the golden rays of the sun hanging from the sky like soft threads. With a shaky breath she kept on walking on the grass filled ground, avoiding anyone eyes. She had no idea where she was going, but she kept on moving. She felt awkward, shy and even out of place. She wasn't really inclined on going to new places, meeting strangers, she never felt comfortable in her skin like that. She suddenly became aware of her ruffled hair, the scrapped bleeding knees. But before she could find any other fault in herself, someone cut her off.

"Hey, are you looking for someone?"

Arabelle twisted backwards, and saw a boy in his late teens; probably around the age of eighteen. He has ruffled jet black hair, which contrasted greatly with his brilliant green eyes. He has tall, something Arabelle wasn't happy about. He had that sarcastic smile on his face. He reminded her of a skateboarder, she would occasionally see that the mall, not that she goes there that much.

"Um, I am looking for Nico…" she muttered, "Nico di Angelo."

"Nico?" he asked, amazed this new piece of information.

Arabelle nodded, her eyes on the ground, "Do you know him?" she inquired, feeling quite relived.

"Yep," he replied, "I have known him for more than five years."

"You must know him pretty well then."

"I can't say that for sure, that guy keeps everything to himself," he replied, "Anyways, I saw him stomping towards the lake over there,"

Arabelle tilted her head, "Lake?" he asked, "There is a lake over here?"

The raven head chuckled, "You just came here, right? The one who killed the hellhound?"

Arabelle blushed, "How did you know?"

He grinned, "I know everything," he replied cheekily, but then corrected himself, "Just kidding, I heard people saying that. Rumors spread pretty easily over here."

Arabelle smiled lightly.

"I am Percy Jackson, by the way," he said, while motioning her to follow him.

"Arabelle" she replied, following him, "Arabelle Prier."

The trip to the lake wasn't long; along the path Percy told her he was the son of Poseidon, which Arabelle found pretty amazing. Son of the big three? Now that's something.

But Percy then told her that being the son of the Big Three isn't easy, they are strong and more monsters come to kill them. Not to mention the fact that, being the son of Poseidon means that the god has broken the oath, which could easily start a war between the gods.

"Anyways," Percy said, "Are you claimed yet?"

Arabelle shook her head, "Nope," she replied, "It's probably some minor god."

Percy frowned, "I thought the same thing when I first came here. And besides, anyone who can defeat a hellhound is worthy of being the child of a powerful god, and especially with that aura you have."

But before Arabelle could ask him what he meant, she heard the sound of the water and she stopped. "Well, here we are," Percy said, "I hope you find Nico, he can blend easily in the shadows" and with that he started walking back. "Thank you," Arabelle told him and smiled, earning a smile in return, and a motion of hands urging her to go forward, which she did.

Percy grinned, "Arabelle, huh?" he said to himself, "Nico is finally growing up. Wait till Hazel and Piper hear this." And with that he went towards his thought destination.

Arabelle looked around, this was definitely a peaceful and quite place, no wonder Nico came here. For as far as she knows Nico he prefers to isolate himself and just think. She walked forward towards the lake, as if it was calling out to her. She sat at the bank and peered at the crystal clear water, her reflection staring back at her. She had a sudden urge to drown herself into the depths of the water and never come back. She wonders if that's what Nico thought about shadows, must her also think about how comforting it is?

"What are you doing here?"

Arabelle yelped, as her heart skipped a beat in shock. She almost stumbled and fell face first into the lake, if someone hadn't caught hold of her before. Arabelle turned around and met the brown eyes of Nico di Angelo. "Gods, don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed, her heart still beating fast.

Nico narrowed his eyes, "I could say the same thing to you,"

Arabelle blinked in confusion, "What?"

Nico hunched up and sat beside her, near the river bank. "You could've given a warning before fainting…" he grumbled.

Arabelle blinked, but then giggled lightly, "Don't tell me, is the Mighty Ghost King worried about the poor unfortunate Arabelle Prier, who somehow has the tendency to be attacked by two monsters in the same day and then to faint without a _warning_?"

Nico scoffed and looked away, "That's an understatement" he said, "But right after you fainted, your pulse stopped for a moment, and I thought you actually died."

Arabelle stopped laughing, "What? I actually…"

Nico nodded, glaring at the water of the lake, "Yeah, you did."

"Oh," Arabelle said, looking at the grass, "So it's like I died and then came back to life?"

Nico looked at her, "Don't be nonchalant about it, you could've actually died."

Arabelle smiled and poked his cheek lightly, something she knew Nico hated but she looked doing it, "Don't worry, di Angelo" she said cheekily, "I am too mean to die"

The fates were snickering at her.

**Yosh, another chapter done!**

**Aw, man I swear I had to work my lazy butt to write this. It's like, I made a pledge to these amazing readers that I would most definitely post another chapter and would not stop writing. And we have like more than 700 reads in Quotev? No that's something. **

**I would like to say thanks to all those people who have encouraged me to write this chapter during my depression mode. They truly made me look at the brighter side of life. Anyways, if you have any ideas or criticism you would like to share then please to message me **


	12. Chapter 11: Cabins, Home and Uneasiness

_.:Café Cubano:. _  
_Fact: E__**uropeans originally called coffee "Arabian wine"**_  
**Chapter 11: Cabins, Home and Uneasiness **  
**"Okay, so there are the strawberry fields over there," Arabelle pointed towards the grass filled meadow, "That is where the fruit is grown and is sold for the camp expenses." **  
**Nico nodded. **  
**"And the volleyball field is over there," Arabelle pointed towards the left, "which basically consist off show offs, the sons of Apollo." **  
**Nico nodded again. **  
**"And that leaves with the Armory, stables, and the mess hall," Arabelle said, "that is there, there and over there." **  
**Nico replied with a nod, showing that she is correct. **  
**Arabelle sighed, "Okay, is there anything else left?" **  
**"Yes," Nico said, "I still have to show you the cabins." **  
**"Cabins?" **  
**"Where do you think the campers live?" Nico said, **exasperatedly, beckoning her to follow him.  
The cabins were all were placed in the shape of the Greek alphabet, Omega. There were twenty cabins in total, each concerning a god or a goddess. All of them were facing an open area, about the size of a basketball field. Many Greek statues, flower beds, basket ball hopes, swords and shields were loitered around. On the middle was a fire pit, which was glowing rather brightly. As Arabelle looked around, she saw that the doors of the cabins looked nothing alike. They all stood out, different yet proud-like.  
"That's cabin one," Nico said, pointing towards huge bronze double doors, polished in such a way that it looks as if thunderbolts are passing through, "It belongs to the children of Zeus. There aren't normally that much campers of here."  
"That one is for Hera," informed Nico, towards the doors carved with peacocks, "It's for honorary, since Hera doesn't have any demigods, but if we don't have one, she will be pissed off."  
"And that's for Poseidon," Arabelle said, nodding towards the door studded with rough sea stones and coral reefs, painted with sea waves and a trident and number 3 carved on top.  
"Cabin 4 is Demeter's Cabin," Nico said. Arabelle smiled at the light brown colored door, covered with vines of tomato and flowers. "Cabin 5 is for Ares, and trust me," said Nico, "you wouldn't want to mess with them."  
"I can tell," Arabelle said, looking at the badly crimson painted door, with a boar's head planted on the middle, with barbed wire on the floor.  
"Cabin 6, Athens," pointing his thumb towards the door of owl design, "A place where sleep is not important."  
Arabelle smiled, "Now that's my kind of place."  
"Cabin 7 is for Apollo's show off kids," Nico said, glancing merely at the gold glinting doors.  
"Cabin 6 is for Artemis, it's for honor since Artemis vowed to be a maiden forever, "Nico said. Secretly Arabelle adored the goddess, but was disappointed by the plain design of the cabin. "It reflects the moonlight at night," Nico said, as if reading her thoughts.  
"Cabin 9 for Hephaestus," Nico said. The cabin looked like a small factory, with brick walls and smokestacks like the forges, plus a lot of gears."Be careful with the counselor, he is terrible flirt."  
Arabelle nodded, "Noted."  
"Cabin 10, Aphrodite's cabin," grimaced Nico, "a place for killing normal demigods with designer perfumes."  
"Cabin 11 is for Hermes," Nico said, "the counselor are huge pranksters so be careful."  
Arabelle smiled, "What's with these weird personalities?"  
"Cabin 12 is Dionysus's cabin," Nico said, "who is the camp director, and apparently doesn't give a shit toward us demigods."  
"Cabin 13 if for Hades," Nico said sullenly. Arabelle looked at the solid obsidian cabin, with huge columns."  
"The rest are minor gods," Nico said, "that includes Hypnos, Nemesis, Nike, Hebe, Tyche and something I don't remember."  
"You know a lot about this," Arabelle remarked.  
"I don't come here a lot," Nico said, "Sometimes pass by here just to see if something as happened."  
"Why?" Arabelle asked, frowning.  
"I don't belong here." Nico said, clutching the hilt of his sword.

Arabelle glanced at the cabins, "What I've said and done build a world of my own~" she sang.

"I heard that a new demigod came," Annabeth informed, flicking to the next page of the book she was skimming through.  
Percy grinned, "Yeah, I met her. Arabelle Prier was her name."  
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Did she really defeat the hellhound?"  
Percy nodded, "She said she did, but Nico was there with her too."  
Annabeth frowned, "Nico?" she asked, "But what do you think the hellhound was doing over there?"  
Percy shrugged, "I don't know," he said, gazing at the river, "I was thinking the same thing."  
Annabeth she chewed her lip while saying, "Maybe…Hades did it?"  
Percy knitted her eyebrows together, "Hades?"  
Annabeth nodded, "Think about it, she was with Nico at that time, Hades might have done it to scare her off."  
Percy looked at her seriously, but then his face broke into a grin, "Come on, we don't need to spend our time together talking about this."  
Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend, "Yeah," she agreed, "It seems so long ago since the war."

Percy smiled at the overflowing water of the lake, "It sure has."

Arabelle glanced meekly at the staring unknown faces of the campers, "I am Arabelle Prier," she said, hoping her voice won't sound as nervous as she actually felt inside, "And um, I am apparently undetermined so I guess I will have to stay here for the mean time…"  
Crap. She hated her habit of speaking formally when nervous.  
Hell, why does she have to stay at the Hermes Cabin?  
"Hermes is the god of travelers, hence all the unclaimed goes there until they are claimed," Nico had informed her earlier.  
Ah, well.  
"So, um is it okay that I stay here..?" Arabelle asked, fidgeting with her scarf.  
All of them broke into grins. "Man, it has been such a long time since we had a new demigod to stay here," one of them sighed.  
"Like really, they would be claimed the next day, and our happy family will decrease in numbers" pouted another camper.  
Arabelle blinked, "Huh..?"  
"Hey, what are you standing there for?" another camper called happily, "Come on in!"  
Two of the campers stood up and moved towards her, by the looks of it they were both twins "Welcome to the humble family~" they both chanted together.  
"And may you forever more~" the shorter one said, his eyes glinting mischievously.  
"Stay merry with us!" the other one finished, grinning broadly.  
All the other campers laughed at the strange welcome Arabelle received. Arabelle cracked a smile, her nervousness slowly edging away from her, "I hope so too," she said grinning.  
"I am Travis Stoll, by the way," one of them informed, grinning, "And this is my brother Connor." He said, patting his brother on the shoulder, "And we are the counselor of this cabin."  
"And now, without further ado, you better start settling over here." Connor said, "We have a spare bunk to spare, so put your stuff over there."

Arabelle had a feeling her stuff won't be safe with these brothers as the counselor.

"Arabelle."  
The said girl turned herself so fast, she twisted her neck rather painfully. While rubbing her neck, she said, "Who are you?"  
"Annabeth Chase,"  
Arabelle glanced at her honey blonde hair, curled in princess curls that were resting against her tanned skin. She might have passed for a Californian girl with natural tan, but the eyes got in the way. They were an intense shade of grey, it was as if she was calculating her every move yet they still looked distracted; as if she was thinking about more than several things together.  
"Um, did I do something wrong?" Arabelle asked timidly, Annabeth looked like the person you wouldn't want to mess with.  
She smiled and shook her head, "No, "she replied, "I just came here to ask if you adjusting fine."  
Arabelle nodded, "Yup," she confirmed, "I do think I can get the hang of it."  
Annabeth sat next to her on the grassy ground. "That's good," commented Annabeth, "Though, you got used to it easily, huh?"  
Arabelle smiled lightly, "I suppose you can say that," she said staring at the lake, "It's just…I feel like I am at home."  
Annabeth nodded, "This is the only safe home for demigods."  
Arabelle shifted her weight to her other leg, "But I also feel …uneasy," she said, "I don't know, I just feel something is going to happen."  
Annabeth patted her shoulder lightly, "You only came here," she reassured, "its okay to feel that way."  
Arabelle picked at the grass, "I suppose so."  
**I am so sorry for not updating earlier! I was just overcome with real life happenings, that I couldn't write anything. Plus I had a terrible writers block. (Sobs)**  
**And I am also sorry for giving you such a bad chapter~ I am a terrible writer, aren't I? **  
**Note: In the first scenario when Arabelle sang I've said and done build a world of my own, it's actually from a song, "I don't belong here" by Echobelly.**


	13. Chapter 12: Crying Bells, Areith and Cam

Café crema

Fact: Coffee beans are combustible and scientists have suggested that coffee beans could replace fossil fuels

**Chapter 12: Crying Bells, Areith and Camera **

Arabelle grasped her book tightly, afraid it might fall down as she stared at the first rays of sun emerge from the sky. She leaned against the hard wooden trunk of the tree, her legs dangling from the branch and swinging lightly. She placed her hand on her mouth, trying to stifle her yawn, though she wasn't successful at it. Why she woke up at 5 in the morning and decided to climb the tallest tree her eyes landed on, surpassed her. But then, it isn't Arabelle Prier, if she doesn't accomplish weird things in life.

She sighed as she glanced at the sky, thinking about the past happenings. She has gotten along at camp really well; sometimes that thought almost scared her, because normally she doesn't appreciate change, but she can adapt rather quickly. She has made friends at her temporally cabin, though she still spends her time alone. But she dosen't mind, she focuses on training more. It's a normal routine now, sword fighting, archery, Greek lessons, rock climbing. But there that one thing that still bothers her.

Nico di' Angelo.

She rarely sees him now. He stayed for the first week, but now…she hasn't seen him for a whole week. It scares her, because it was Nico who told her that the outside world is dangerous for demigods, but he himself is outside somewhere, but where? Nico was the only true friend she has ever made. They both were strangers to each other, but they stuck together on each other's company. To her, it was _comfortable, _she felt at ease when she was with him. But now without him, she feels _alone_. Sure, she was made new friends at camp, _but they weren't him_. Even though it was her who does all the talking, it was her who drags him to do random stuff with her, like sneaking of the library at night, climbing trees, waking up early in the morning to climb at the rooftop to see the sun rise, chasing squirrels for no reason, prank calling all the bullies who used to tease her at school.

She smiled as she remembered the time when she nearly fell on thin ice on the lake. It happened when Arabelle was running from Nico and the mischievous Aaron, who both were threatening to throw the large snow ball at her. She wasn't looking where she was running to; she went on ahead having no care of the world around her. That was until the ice cracked beneath her.

'_Oh,_' she thought realization dawing to her, '_I am standing on the lake_.'

Looking at Nico, she knew he realized the same thing. 'It will be alright,' he said, 'Just retrace your steps,'

She wasn't scared, she knew; but she didn't want to fall into the icy cold water. She wasn't afraid of the water, in fact she wanted to drown in them, it was the cold she was afraid of. Slowly, she took a step forward, the ice cracking slightly beneath her, forming spider webs on the crystallized, alabaster water.

'Look at me, Bells,' Nico said, advancing forward, '_Look at me_.'

_Bells. _

That was the first time he had called her that. She slowly looked at him, '_Bells_,' she thought, '_That's what he called me_.' And ever so slowly she was walking her way back, her eyes glued to Nico.

'I like Nico's hair,' she thought, ignoring the cracking voices of the ice, 'They are messy and un kept, but they looks so soft, that it makes me wanna run my hand through it.

She took another step forward.

'I like Nico's eyes,' she recalled, 'They contain so much hurt and pain, but it still reminds me of dark chocolate that I use to eat to keep me awake to study for finals.'

The ice cracked more beneath her.

'I like Nico's smile,' she thought, 'it's so rare, that it makes me want to see him happy.'

She was really near to the surface.

'I like Nico's presence,' she thought, 'It comforts me somehow; it makes me want to be with him more.'

'I like-'

The ice gave up on her.

'_Nico!"_

She remembered the impact the icy cold water had on her. It knocked out her breath. It felt it draggers were thrown at every inch of her body. It was dark. It was _so_ dark, it scared it.

That was the first time she was sacred of darkness.

She remembered thrashing around, trying to hold to something, but it was already too late. But, then she realized one thing:

_She was breathing. _

She didn't know how that was possible, because …that's just impossible, right? But how come she isn't feeling oxygen deprived, how come the lack of the air isn't bothering her? But maybe her mind is toying with her. She felt the darkness cover her. Even if she could breath, she was afraid.

But before she could come up with anything she felt a something took hold of her. It was a hand, she knew, but it was made out of bones, no flesh. It pulled her out of the lake, shivering she got out of the hole made on the lake. Nico took hold of her and forced her to stand up. He took off his jacket and gave it to her; she cherished the warmth that that jacket spread to her. But then remembering the feel of the bony hand that pulled her out of the lake, she asked Nico to hold out his hand. When she felt it, it was different. It wasn't like the hand that caught hold of her. But before she could ask about it, Nico snatched his hand back.

"I don't like to be touched," he said, shoving his hand on his jeans pocket.

Arabelle looked back at the lake and saw a pile of human bones laid right next to the hole made on the frozen water body. She wondered what that meant, but-

Arabelle was shaken from her thought when she felt the tree vibrate.

Startled she glanced downwards, only to see a figure kick angrily on the bark of the tree, muttering. Arabelle, feeling giddy called down, "Who dares destroy my tranquility?"

The person looked glanced up. Apparently, the person was a girl, or Arabelle thought she was a girl, guessing with that long chestnut hair gracefully falling down her shoulder. The girl squinted her eyes up and then replied with the same volume, "Oh I am sorry," she said, sarcasm on every word, "I didn't know I was disturbing you. Please do forgive me"

Arabelle giggled, she closed her book and placed it on the branch; and then set her way to climb down the tree. Securing her foot on the branch below her, she hooked her hands on the previous branch she was sitting on. She climbed down several branches that were close enough. Then when she was near enough to the land, or as near it seemed from her vision she jumped.

_I scrap my knees, when I feel from the heavens _

_With crimson on my legs, I found my way on earth _

_Because if I am an angel my mother said I was _

_I will find my wings in this endless labyrinth_

Landing gracefully on the ground, (Arabelle was sure to ignore the fact that she almost stumbled and fell after landing), she looked at the new stranger and smiled. "You are forgiven," she said giddily, "though you need to apologize to the tree from hurting it."

The girl rolled her hazel eyes, and simply crossed her arms against her chest; not saying anything. Her chestnut hair were cascading down her shoulder in soft waves, framing her face. She was kind of taller than Arabelle, (Arabelle was sure to ignore that too) and she looked slightly older than her. She seemed like a daughter of Athena.

Arabelle blinked, "Are you mad at something?"

The girl huffed, "The Stolls," she said simply.

"Ah," Arabelle said, knowing full well that the Stolls always cause trouble to others by continuously playing pranks on them; she was a victim of a few of the pranks too. "Did did they do?"

The girl looked at her, "Why do you care?" she asked bluntly and without waiting for her reply she stormed of somewhere else.

"Huh..?"Arabelle blinked confused, "Did I say something wrong?"

"You have improved, Arabelle," praised Chiron, smiling at her sweating and tired student, "It's a wonder how much you can improve in such a long time."

Arabelle smiled, "Thank you, "she said, lifting up the sword she was lend temporally, "But I still don't know how to quicken my reflexes at dodging attacks."

"All in good time," the centaur said, "But now I think you should-"

Swap!

Arabelle gasped, she jumped back instinctively and almost stumbling down. As if in slow motion, she saw the silver blade hurdle past her face.

"What the..?" she looked back and saw a sharp pointed dragger joined to the hardwood wall. It looked as if it was thrown towards her, but missed by an inch.

"You need to be aware of your surroundings, only then you can win against someone in a fight."

Arabelle turned towards the owner of the voice. It was the same girl she met yesterday morning.

"Huh..?"

"You should be alert." She said, and with that she turned away, her hair swishing behind her.

"Her name is Areith," Chiron said, "Daughter of Athena."

Arabelle didn't say anything; she merely glanced at the dragger stabbed at the wall.

"_I love you lots, mama!" the 3 year old Arabelle cried happily, hugging her mother legs because of her short height. Her mother chuckled; she lifted her small body and poked her cheek. _

"_Mama loves you lots too, Bells," she said, leaning forward so that her nose was touching her daughter's tiny nose. "Now, will you be a strong girl for mama?" she asked, "You will not be afraid, okay?" _

_Arabelle giggled childishly. "I will!" _

_Her mother smiled, 'that's my girl, now-" _

_Everything went black. Her mother's presence disappeared in thin air, leaving her alone. _

_The little Arabelle looked around her, "Mama?" she called. _

_No one replied. _

_She felt the ground beneath her slide, she was falling into emptiness. "Mama?!" she called out again. She heard nothing. She felt the darkness suffocate her. She screamed for help, for someone to save her. No one came. _

"_Be brave, Bells. Be brave." A voice echoed. _

"BELLS WAKE UP!"

Arabelle's eyes snapped open, her breathing shallow. She came in contact with her yellow comforter that was nearly suffocating her. That explains the suffocating feeling she was having before in her dream. Blinking, she took of her blanket and looked around.

All the other campers of Hermes Cabin were looking at her worriedly, all of them had bleary tired eyes and ruffled hair, as if they has been woken up. Which, Arabelle assumed they had.

"What's the matter, Bells?" Travis asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Bells.

"What did you call me?" she asked, still shaken from the nightmare.

"Um, Bells."

She didn't know what took over her. Maybe it was the facts that it was the nickname her mother called her by, or the fact that she was so scared by the dream she wanted to… _do something. _

Before she could stop herself Arabelle took hold of her dragger and raced towards Travis, head-locking him she placed her dragger near his neck, "Don't. Call. Me. That," she hissed venomously.

Travis's eye widened, "I am sorry," he said, afraid, "I won't, now please take away the dragger."

Arabelle removed her dragger and stood back. She glanced at everyone; they all were looking at her in shock. They looked almost afraid of her.

Afraid.

She fled from the cabin, her legs sprinting to some unknown place. She didn't care. She wanted to leave. She has to go and find her mother. She…

Nico. She needs to see Nico.

As she reached the lake, she completely broke down. Trembling, she fell to her knees, the grass tickling her legs. She cried barely stifled slobbering sobs, trying to stop them. But she couldn't, she doesn't want too. Because it feels good, it felt as if all the tears she had shoved away were now coming back. She cried about her mother, she cried about the fact that she abandoned her aunt and uncle, she cried about being so weak, she cried about Nico.

It's her fault isn't it? She couldn't read past him, she couldn't understand him; maybe that's why he felt her. Maybe he grew tired of her antics. She shouldn't have felt sincere; she shouldn't have had hopes that they both can be friends. But they were, weren't they? They shared secrets, worries. They talked, they stayed silence. They comforted, they-

Oh gods, why does she even care?

"Bells?"

Arabelle felt her body tense. That voice…

"Nico."

Nico crouched down to her level, his dark cherry wood eyes boring into her emerald ones. "What's wrong?" he asking, his voice whispering, "Did the Stolls do something?"

New freshly tears peeled out of her eyes again, she chocked back a sob; shaking her head. What's wrong with her? Why is she crying?

"Bells…" Nico whispered, "Look at me."

Arabelle looked up; her tear strained face was at the same level at him. 'I like Nico's voice,' she found herself thinking, 'It so soft and soothing,'

"W-where were you?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't belong here, Bells," Nico said, "Didn't I tell you? People here don't want me."

Anger filled her emotions now; she scrunched up her eyebrows and stared at him. "Don't be so selfish," she said, "Who says you didn't belong here?"

"I am a child of Hades," he spat, "I wasn't meant to exist."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, "You were born before the vow was made."

Nico eyes widened, "Who..?"

"Percy and Annabeth told me."

Maybe it was that name that irked him; because he suddenly stood up, "No one needs me!" he said angrily, "Do you even now what they say behind me? Do you know what my fath-Hades said? He said it should be Bianca who should be alive, not me!"

Arabelle was standing on her feet too, her back arched so that she could be as the same level as him, "Don't be selfish, Nico!" she said furiously, "What so you mean by no one needs you? I do! I need you, you were my only friend! And now you dumped at this camp and ran away!"

Nico didn't say anything.

"Did you know how scared I was?" she asked, her voice shaking again, "For two whole weeks I didn't get to see you! I thought you d-died…"

Tears were now compiling in her eyes now, ready to fall down again. "Did you know how many nightmares I had about you dying? But no! You just had to go and leave, didn't you? 'Cuz no one cares for the poor unfortunate Nico! Well, I do! And don't you dare leave me agai-!"

Arabelle was cut of as she felt two strong yet thin arms embrace her. She blinked rapidly, as her face was shoved on the aviator jacket. "N-nico..?" she gasped. "I am sorry, Bells" he whispered, his voice sending shivers down her spine, "Just don't cry again,"

Arabelle sniffed as she wrapped her arms around him, "You are an asshole," she muttered. She heard him chuckle, his chest vibrating as he did so, "I know," he said quietly. "I am sorry," he whispered again. Arabelle squeezed her eyes shut, "It's okay," she replied.

"Well, will you look at that?"

Both Nico and Arabelle broke apart, looking at where the sudden outburst of voice came from. It was Leo Valdez, grinning impishly as he held up a camera close to his face. "Man, I am so glad I made a camera few days ago, who knew it would come in handy?" he said to himself, "Now," he said, adjusting the camera, "will you two mind doing that again? I need a few more pics as a souvenir to show to Hazel, Piper and the whole of Aphrodite Cabin."

"Leo…" growled Nico.

"Oh come on, Neeks, "said the ever jubilant Leo, "Whatcha being angry for?"

"Leo will you please give that camera?" asked Arabelle innocently.

Leo blinked, then frowned, "Nope, sorry Ara, that trick won't work on me!" he said, and then glancing at Nico angry expression, he said hurriedly, "Well, I gotta dash, I have to show this to Calypso first!" and ran away.

Nico and Arabelle both looked at each other. "Should we..?" she asked. Nico nodded, "We should." And then she both ran after Leo, all worries forgotten.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Annabeth?" Chiron asked, looking at Annabeth; who had just entered the Big House.

Annabeth nodded, "Yes," she said, "It's about Arabelle."

**And that's it!**

**Before anyone of you can pester me about not updating from a whole month, I have my reasons okay?**

**First, I was lazy to write anything. Second, I had real life stuff to do. Third, I was banned from the internet and my computer. Fourth, I have homework to do. Fifth-**

**Anyways, since because of the one month hiatus, I decided to write a long chapter for my lovely readers **

**P.S: Yo Maryam, what do you think? Am I still an evil person? **


End file.
